Laurent Dubreuil, Valérie Maltais, Carolina Hiller and Ted-Jan Bloemen won national titles on Thursday as the Canadian long track speed skating championships began.
Dubreuil, from Lévis, won the men’s 500 m.
The World Championships silver medalist in this distance stopped the clock at 34.54 seconds, beating Joshua Telizyn (34.83) and Anders Johnson (35.14).
“I’m very happy to win the Canadian championship for another year! It wasn’t my best race or my best time, but I had a knee injury for the last month and a half,” said Dubreuil.
“To do a 34.50 on a day where the ice wasn’t very fast is not bad. It’s a good start to the season and I have another month to get a little bit fitter for the World Cups. »
After the best result of her career in the women’s 3000m at the 2023 Worlds in March, Maltais, from La Baie, posted a time of 4:02.84 over this same distance.
She beat long-time teammates in the team pursuit, Isabelle Weidemann and Ivanie Blondin. Each recorded their best times of the season, 4:04.76 and 4:06.09.
“I am very happy with my race and the fact that, tactically, I followed the plan I wanted to apply,” said Maltais. The summer of training went really well. I had little glitches and injuries here and there, but I stayed focused on training and the season that was approaching. »
Veteran Bloemen of Calgary was dominant in the men’s 5,000m. His time of 6:18.95 far eclipsed Connor Howe (6:25.93), while bronze went to Graeme Fish (6:26.79).
A British Columbian, Hiller kicked off the competition by racing towards her second national title in a row in the women’s 500m.
The Prince George athlete clocked 38.49, beating Jenna Larter (38.87) and Brooklyn McDougall (38.91).
On Friday, titles will be awarded in the men’s and women’s 1000m, women’s 5000m and men’s 10,000m.